How Dangerous is your IP Really?

Hey AO!

So I spend all of my time on another forum :p

But the topic recently came up about people being able to see your IP on Facebook or something like that, to which I replied:

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If your box/network is secure, then who cares? And if it's running anything than can be exploited, then chances are it has been already - people are scanning for security vulnerabilities on your IP day and night - set up a firewall or check your router logs if you want to see for yourself. IP anonymity as a source of security is over-rated. Anyone here can find my IP address by visiting the site in my signature... I don't care... worse-case scenario you DDOS my connection w/ a botnet until my ISP shuts it down... or you get tired of wasting your time...

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Originally Posted by g4m3rof1337

They can find out exactly where you live, what room the computer is in, all of your private information, and hack directly into your PC!

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And the government is watching you through your television screen! :rolleyes:
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As for you location privacy, every IP I look up just gives the location of the ISP and its routers - you'd have to have their records to show what modem MAC address the IP was leased to, and then have the customer's address that the modem belongs to in order to get an exact location. Am I wrong?

from iplocation.net:

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Although it would be nice to be able to find precise location of a visitor, it is almost impossible to find exact location of a host given its IP address. However, there are tools available to help identify approximate location of the host.

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(original thread here)

Am I pretty much on the level here? Or are there other things people could do with your IP that I'm not thinking of or am not aware of?

Thanks guys - I'll try to drop by more often... it's just that nothing is ever going on here anymore... I know I'm not helping that by not posting, but... I'm only so interesting... :D

Peace out and all that jazz... ;)

If you could trace me to within 70 miles of my location , you would be wearing "RayBans" and have a 9mm about your person.

:D

That's funny... :p :D :cool:

but this site actually traces my IP to right down the street from my house: http://www.ip-adress.com/ip_tracer/ - I assume the location on the map is where the ISP's router is? I don't fully understand how ISP networks are setup - I assume they use coaxial cable on the phone poles which go into routers at various locations? Like this:

http://www.antionline.com/images/ieimages/2010/05/1.jpg

But I don't know for sure... guess I could drive down the street and see what's at the location on the map? Or go to work for Grande Com!? I find it very interesting...

[edit] I guess you can't put images in posts? Gay... but I guess we'd get a lot of trolls posting tubgirls and goatses....

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Originally Posted by nihil

If you could trace me to within 70 miles of my location , you would be wearing "RayBans" and have a 9mm about your person.

:D

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yeah, it's true. Yours comes up as London England, and I know you're a good 3 1/2-four hours from that.

I guess a lot depends on how your ISP is structured?

Mine is entirely dynamic so I get a different IP address each time I login.They have a variety of centres or nodes through which you get routed. The two closest are about 60 miles away Right now I am coming through Mansfield in Nottinghamshire which is 120 miles away. Sometimes it is London which is 250 miles out.

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I assume the location on the map is where the ISP's router is?

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That would be my understanding as well.

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They can find out exactly where you live, what room the computer is in, all of your private information, and hack directly into your PC!

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Not if you use RJ45 cables;):D and if we are talking WiFi all you would see is the router rather than the PC. I do not see the relationship between basic computer security and IP addresses.

Obviously if you have a static IP address you need to be more careful as you can always be found there.

With so many people outsourcing storage, email, etc. Not to mention social networking... I think it would be easier to attack someones web based email account, their twitter account, facebook, myspace, bank, etc. Or send them a targeted phishing email, and get them to open a malicious pdf. Send them a link to Koobface on their facebook profile. A poisoned bit.ly link through twitter. I can think of several methods of attack that do not require me to have their ip address. Most people store more valuable info online than they do on their personal computers.

Just my $0.02...

I know those approaches must work on some, or else nobody would bother, but how many people really fall for phishing e-mails?

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Originally Posted by JPnyc

but how many people really fall for phishing e-mails?

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If people didn't fall for them there wouldn't so many of them. The sad fact is people do fall for them and while there is money to be made from scams, we will continue to see phishing e-mails. :(:(

Joe, are you saying you haven't seen people do STUPID things? I mean you live in NY, you've probably seen some major morons.

I see dumb people all the time... I'll be on the freeway and some idiot will cut me off without even looking, and when I look at them, they're on the phone, watching a movie, and yelling at their kids in a mini van while trying to drive.

People like that don't even shock me when they get an email like this:

from : [email protected]
to: Moron

Dear Idiot,

I'm a rich guy in a country that is so crap that if I was rich, I would have MOVED already, but don't let this throw you off, I stay because I have money locked in the bank. For just 7 easy payments of everything you own and your little dog too, you can help me not have to get a real job for another 4 months while I try and find another stupid moron online who thinks I'm not full of it.

Enclosed in my PayPal account because I can't give you my bank account numbers, because I don't want you to know I'm broke and living in Nigeria. Please send money and tell your friends that you'll be rewarded with $3,000,000.00 US for doing so (That's about what it's going to cost you to hire Lawyers and track my ass down, and with your accounts empty and those overdraft fees in place, you'll owe almost that much)...

Thank you for your time and your in-ability to watch the news and see that just because someone sent it to you in an email doesn't mean it's real!

Your friend,

Prince Zamir Nahinanaja.

...

Think about this. Lets say that you want to attack an HR person. Look at their website for a job opening. Email the HR person with a malicious PDF called Resume.pdf...

You would be surprised how many people don't know to never open eCards.

How many a day fall for the old: "Hey I found this video on youtube, is this you?" ... Oh crap, looks like you need to update flashplayer. -- *Clicky*

Or simply guess someones password questions. Though you would have to be a complete moron to put correct information into those. Oh wait. What? *cough*Palin*cough*

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Originally Posted by DjM

If people didn't fall for them there wouldn't so many of them. The sad fact is people do fall for them and while there is money to be made from scams, we will continue to see phishing e-mails. :(:(

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well that's sad all right. I mean I've seen tons of banking e-mails sent to me, even some of them from my own bank, at least in name, but they end up going to the e-mails I know my bank has no clue that I have.

I was able to get mods here to ban other users and give me other users' login details. This from people who where so egotistical as to think of themselves as computer gurus... or better yet, "exceptionally bright".

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Originally Posted by The-Spec

I was able to get mods here to ban other users and give me other users' login details. This from people who where so egotistical as to think of themselves as computer gurus... or better yet, "exceptionally bright".

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yawn, i did 1 better i socialed your user account. :spit: whos my bitch?? :eek:


see post below for teh proof. mehehe

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and give me other users' login details.

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????????????????????

Well that's interesting because moderators don't have access to other user's login details.:rolleyes:

Nihil, it was a few years ago. I remember it. Can't remember who did it, but he Social Engineered it out of someone I think. Again it was a while back so I'm not really sure about every detail, but I do remember it happening.

One thing though; Who was the super ego?

Didn't he con someone into closing katja's account?................I think it might have been Negative???

The only information that Moderators have that is not available to the general membership is the IP address used when the account was opened and the e-mail account.

The IP is obviously totally useless and if you have forgotten your e-mail account..................tough!

Moderators do not have access to members passwords, account names or whatever, so The-Spec is talking crap ;)

It wasn't a Moderator. Like I said I actually remember it happening, and I think it was Scoot but I'm not actually sure, I know it was an Admin though. He isn't "talking crap".

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Originally Posted by The-Spec

and here i am now making posts on the interweb in your user account. :D

any1 else want to post in The-Spec's user account here's the psswrd> H1kMneDC

:rofl: :spit:
u mad????

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classic. I get so tired of hearing the same lame story no less than once a month... Spec 1337 h4x0r3d a user account. I think my mom did that too back in the day.

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I was able to get mods here to ban other users and give me other users' login details.

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I don't know about other moderators but the only person he has ever got me to ban is himself..................on numerous occasions.

As for Moderators giving out users' login details, that is total crap.............or another Walter Mitty flight of fantasy.

It was negative that banned a user account, because The-Spec created another user account that had a similar looking and similar e-mail addresse.

He then sent Negative a PM, this was back when we were still using the other version of Vbulletin, so negative manually typed in the person's user account name and banned without checking the e-mails etc.

as far as giving out login details the moderators don't have access to passwords. the only people that can access the passwords or manually assign new passwords are the Admin's.

beside's i think The-Spec should stop trying to boost he's E-ego and instead and stop getting he's user account socialed straight out from under him.... ...... :george:

My thread turned into a weiner-measuring contest! :eek:
And Spec - I love ya man, but nobody gives a fu<k. Social Engineering on a small-time computer forum is weak. Just sayin' ;)

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Originally Posted by wiskic10_4

My thread turned into a weiner-measuring contest! :eek:
And Spec - I love ya man, but nobody gives a fu<k. Social Engineering on a small-time computer forum is weak. Just sayin' ;)

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It may be a wiener measuring contest... but at least it's our wiener measuring contest. :-P

Well, to get back to the original question, I don't think that your IP address is particularly important provided that you have a secure system and practice safe computer usage.

Something along the lines of having a firewall, IDPS, and behavioural monitoring. Also use a least privilege account and don't clicky clicky on everything you see; also keep your applications and OS up to date.

However there are factors that will probably affect the extent to which knowing your IP address may be an issue to a greater or lesser extent.

1. Static or dynamic IP address?
2. Random or targetted attack?
3. Wired or WiFi system

Just a thought :)

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It may be a wiener measuring contest... but at least it's our wiener measuring contest. :-P

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Well, mine is 12 inches, but I don't use it as a rule:p

To quote King of The Hill

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Zzzzzerrrrm. They're coming right for me!

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Nothing more than paranoia!

Steve
(Who has switched over to the true dark side and bought a Macbook)

**** Steve Jobs is the Leader **** I love the leader ****

MY ipaddress is 127.0.0.1 come and get me skiddies - I dare you!

I didn't completely read the whole thread. But I didn't see mention of Google Street View and the streetview cars capturing MAC addresses and AP names.

Somewhere there has to be a list of AP's named Linksys with there corresponding street address.

My point is why bother getting a public ip address. I have yet to work on a linksys home router that was password protected. (by that I mean the factory defaults were not changed)

Oh and as to size... I once tried Viagra and ended up with a black eye.

I tried Viagra once too; I got taller.

lol. Wow. This thread really made a hard turn for the gutter. [he said hard. heh]

Heh... boner.

lol, the topic is going off-road now.

Anyways, when I checked that IP address site, it showed an empty farm field near a power relay station in my city. I have no idea if the hub is located there, but it might be.

I might try a tor/proxy program to see what happens, since I have a static ip from my ISP. *lame*

You just made me read through a whole bunch of old crap ... start a new thread mate.

If your computer is wide open, random strangers will have found it already and stolen everything worth having. actually telling people won't make any difference.

calvin47,

This thread is 3 years old, and things have changed a lot in that time. However, for possibly the first time, I am inclined to agree with you provided that you take the timeline into consideration, and we will only go back to Windows XP (2001).

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If your computer is wide open, random strangers will have found it already and stolen everything worth having.

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Not really people, but internet worms such as Blaster and Code Red. In the early days of Windows XP, the firewall was not turned on by default so you would be infected if you didn't activate it or install a better solution. I believe that this was rectified in SP1, where the firewall was turned on by default?

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actually telling people won't make any difference.

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Only if they can be trusted? otherwise you would be open to a DoS attack, particularly if you have a static IP address.

:)

By default, the Windows Firewall is turned on the moment you install Service Pack 2.
If it is not turned on, inside of 15 minutes, someone else will use your computer for their ends.

To tell you the truth, it's not dangerous at all, because if you have an ISP(Internet Service Provider) odds are you have a modem and all of the IP addresses that they give you point to the geographical location of your ISP's datacenter(where all the action goes on) so only the government like FBI can actually have your real house address by your IP Address by saying to your ISP "Hey!, Were the FBI and we'd like so and so's address!" and if anyone ever tells you anything about getting your house address by your IP Address just explain that, Also, if you have a router an IP address like 67.195.160.76 is basically like an "appartment building address" and the people who live there have an internal address like 192.168.1.105 . and most routers and computers today have built in firewalls so by default your network can only have "outgoing" activity.

I agree with AA on this one.

I try to trace myself, and the closest I get is about 60 miles. Hell! and I am on the inside looking out?

Where you will have a potential problem is when you have a fixed or static ISP address........that leaves you open to a personal attack. Mine changes every time I reboot:D